Archive for May, 2008

Orange Regional Medical Center Announces Foundation President

Friday, May 16th, 2008

Orange Regional Medical Center is proud to announce that Christine Palmer Maraia has accepted the position of President of the Orange Regional Medical Center Foundation. Ms. Maraia has a broad array of experience in philanthropy, specializing fundraising development.

Most recently, Ms. Maraia was the Executive Director of the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation. Since joining Good Samaritan Hospital in 1996, she tripled the annual fundraising revenue of the Foundation, enlarged and restructured the staff, increased special event revenue from $135,000 to more than $750,000 annually and established a planned giving Legacy Society with over $3 million in planned gifts. Under her leadership, the largest capital campaign in the hospital's history was launched and surpassed $6 million in pledges. As a result she was recognized in 2007 as Rockland County Professional Fundraiser of the Year.

Ms. Maraia received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Arcadia University in Pennsylvania and is certified by New York University as a Fundraising Professional.

For information about Orange Regional's Foundation, call the (845) 294-2135.

Prior to joining Orange Regional, Ms. Iberger served as Vice President, Operations at NYU Hospitals Center and was responsible for Emergency Medicine, Psychiatry, Laboratory and support departments including Building Services, Decision Support Systems, and Food and Nutrition Services. In addition, she held healthcare leadership positions of Assistant Vice President, Administration at Beth Israel Medical Center and Vice President, Administration at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital Center.

Ms. Iberger earned a MBA in Healthcare Administration from Baruch College/Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a BS in Business Administration and Management from the University of South Carolina. She also completed a Graduate Fellowship in Healthcare Administration from the Greater New York Hospital Association and is Board Certified in Healthcare Management. Ms. Iberger serves as a Health Services Administrator, Major, at the 105th Medical Squadron Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh. She is a recipient of the New York Regional Chapter National Association of Health Services Executives Percy Allen II Award and the Young Healthcare Executive of the Year ACHE Regents' Award.

Previously, Mr. Rab served as Vice President & Chief Information Officer at St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey. His experience includes implementing long-term strategy, architecture, and direction for Management Information Systems, Records, Clinical Engineering, and Communications including the integration of computer systems for St. Mary's and Passaic Beth Israel hospitals. Additionally, he has succeeded in working with physicians and staff to build Electronic Medical Record systems, Computerized Physician Order Entry, Order Sets and Clinical Pathways including nursing documentation and connecting physician groups to hospitals.

Mr. Rab earned a MPH from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and Rutgers University, a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery from Dow Medical College, Pakistan and is a Foreign Medical Graduate. He is a member of the American College of Health Care Executives, a Board Member of the New Jersey Chapter of the Health Information Management Systems Society, a member of the American Health Information Management Association, and a member of the New Jersey Public Health Association. Additionally, he is a founding member of NJSHORE, and a member of the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology and the Mid-Atlantic Region Society of Quality Assurance.

Mr. Rab's primary responsibility will be oversight of Orange Regional's information technology and will continue to advance the institution toward electronic medical records.

Middletown, NY) - Orange Regional Medical Center hosted its annual Physician Recognition Dinner on Friday, May 9, 2008 at the Harness Racing Museum and Hall of Fame. Orange Regional's Board of Directors and Executive Management team hosted the dinner which recognizes physicians for their commitment to medical excellence.

Each year, physicians are chosen by their peers for Leadership and Lifetime Achievement Awards. The Leadership Award recognizes involvement in the development of new or enhanced medical programs, promotion of staff education within the physician's field and professional excellence. The 2008 Leadership Award recipient was Barry Altura, M.D. As Chairman of the Credential Committee at Orange Regional Medical Center for the past 13 years, Dr. Altura has been instrumental in credentialing new physicians for membership and privileges at Orange Regional. Dr. Altura spends many uncompensated hours reviewing information that is pertinent to the integrity and competency of physicians joining the Orange Regional medical staff. His efforts help ensure that patients are obtaining excellent care. Dr. Altura joined Orange Regional as a pediatrician in 1986. He received his medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and completed his residency at The New York Hospital. He is board-certified in Pediatrics. Dr. Altura has served on several committees at Orange Regional including the Perinatal, ER Advisory, Ethics and Medical Executive Committees. He is a past Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics.

This year, Dr. Robert Dinsmore was recognized as the Lifetime Achievement honoree. This award is presented to physicians who have continually improved the level of patient care, whose professional body of work has served to elevate their profession, and who, through personal example, have earned the respect of their peers and the community. Dr. Robert Dinsmore joined Orange Regional Medical Center in 1984 and has shared his expertise through various departments such as Pharmacy, Transfusion and Infection Control in that time. Dr. Dinsmore completed his training in Internal Medicine at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center - Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his training in Hematology and Medical Oncology at Albert Einstein and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Prior to joining Crystal Run Healthcare LLP, he served as Associate Director of Bone Marrow Transplantation at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Cornell Medical College. Dr. Dinsmore serves as Medical Director of Hospice of Orange and Sullivan Counties and is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, Orange County Division.

"The tireless service of Doctors Altura and Dinsmore is an inspiration to the entire hospital family. They truly exemplify what all our medical staff strive to be," said Orange Regional Medical Center Board of Directors Chair Ginny Rizzo.